


time passes by

by i_was_human



Category: Lost in Translation (Webcomic)
Genre: Artist Junsu (Lost in Translation), Character Study, Gen, Junsu (Lost in Translation) & Kang Dongho | D.Min are Brothers, M/M, background 2mindaewon, background juntae, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:21:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26358646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_was_human/pseuds/i_was_human
Summary: dongho grins at him, sparkly lip gloss smeared across his cheek."you lie."or: my take on dongho & junsu's possible childhood
Relationships: Junsu & Kang Dongho | D.Min, Junsu/Lee Taehyuk
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	time passes by

"how do you do it?" he asks once, voice floating in the emptiness of the room. 

what he means:

_how do you manage to stay in their good graces?_

dongho turns to him, sparkly lip gloss smeared across his cheek, and he grins.

"you lie."

* * *

living at home is like being a puppet.

say this, do this, don't do _anything_ that will reflect badly on dad - actually, it's better to be seen and not heard.

 _you'll be a businessman_ , his father says, and he doesn't know how to say, then, that he wants to draw, so he doesn't.

maybe even at that age, he knew it was a moot point.

their parents have lives planned for them, lives and plans and futures all laid out in a nice little line, and what he wants doesn't fit inside that.

coloring outside the lines is more fun than sticking to them, anyways.

* * *

his rebellion is less _planned_ than dongho's. less black ice and more a raging flame - the antithesis of his brother once again.

and isn't that just _so bitterly common?_

where dongho makes silent suggestions - careful manipulation - he forces his way through problems, forces his way into being able to chase his dreams, and it only occurs to him later, when he sees his brother with his hair tied back in a dance studio, that that might not have been the best way to go about it.

oh fucking well, then.

he draws on his arms, snaking spirals of meaning that hold nothing to anyone but him, dahlias wrapping around his wrists and betrayal lost in endless swirls.

his parents hate it, scrub his arms with soap, and he aches for the day where he can make it permanent.

* * *

he runs out to a club with nari - a friend from the year above him in school, with dreams of opening a coffee shop - and it's exhilarating. 

the lights beat down, the air filled with the smell of vodka and sweat, and a man pins him against the wall, pressing open-mouthed kisses to his neck. 

he feels like he's floating.

free of his parents, free of dongho, free of everything and anything that makes him kang junsu. 

it's perfect.

then someone yanks the man off him, grabs his wrist, and he blinks, bewildered, as the person hauls him out back, pressing a cup of water into his hand.

"what the fuck are you doing here?"

it's dongho, glittering blush smeared across his cheekbones and hair pushed back from his face, and he blinks, unsure of what to say to his older brother now that he's _here_.

"su."

"why do you care?" he bites back - harsh, scathing - and dongho rakes a hand through his hair, the motion dislodging a few strands. 

"mom would kill me if you died from alcohol poisoning."

it's always been about them, he realizes - always been about their _parents_.

never about junsu.

in that moment, he feels like an investment.

"fuck off," he spits, shoving dongho back and stumbling back towards the club.

"su-"

"fuck _off_ , hyung."

and dongho lets him go.

* * *

the day he turns eighteen, he leaves.

grabs some cash and breaks his phone and fucks right off to who-knows-where.

dongho doesn't follow him.

* * *

when he meets taehyuk, it's far from love at first sight.

taehyuk's a dick, and he's a dick, but at some point, glaring turns into makeout sessions in the closet, and makeout sessions in the closet turn into actually dating.

no, he doesn't know how it happened. taehyuk's just like that, apparently.

once taehyuk finds out he doesn't technically have a home, he dives into some project his boyfriend isn't privy to, and after two weeks of searching, he slams a printout on the counter with a photo of a shitty apartment on the cover.

 _they can cover it with their paychecks_ , he says, a flush covering his cheeks and ears. _he doesn't like jun sleeping on the streets, so even if it sucks, he'd feel so much better if they could do this-_

he kisses him.

"it's perfect," he says, though it's clearly not. "it's perfect, hyuk."

taehyuk grins, rubbing the back of his neck as his blush deepens, and he gestures at the paper as if that means anything. "i'll call the people, then."

they move in together, and the apartment is cold and drafty and pretty shit, but it's something.

(this is how he learns taehyuk's feet are disgustingly cold, by the way.)

* * *

the next time he sees his brother, he's twenty-four.

he's twenty-four and working in nari's coffee shop, and dongho comes in, looking like a fucking idol.

of course.

he can see the moment dongho recognizes him - his eyes widen, and he nearly drops his coffee - and jaewon stares at him, bewildered.

"hey, hyung," he grins, voice dripping with faux-civility. "long time no see."

dongho fucking _stares_.

"su?"

"jun," he corrects, leaning against the counter. "what, are you gonna laugh?"

"no," dongho replies, sounding incredibly dazed. "what are you doing here?"

"i work here."

"really?"

"if you're going to shit on the store, you can get the fuck out."

"i was just surprised," dongho states, shaking his head once to clear the haze. "i never thought i'd see you again."

the "especially not here" goes unsaid.

"i'm following my dreams," he dryly replies, lips quirking into a half-grin. "working part-time here, part-time at the tattoo parlor."

"that's nice," dongho murmurs, and he knows dongho's just saying that out of obligation. 

"yeah, well, not all of us can be idols like you. i'm making do."

"are you happy?"

"yep," he replies, popping the p. "got a boyfriend, a job tangentially related to my dreams, and a place to sleep. that's pretty nice."

"a boyfriend?"

"if you're going to say something homophobic, get the fuck out of this store."

"no," dongho cuts in, eyebrow ticking up. "i was going to say that's nice."

"...oh."

neither of them have any idea what they're saying, do they?

"if you want to catch up sometime," dongho starts, and he snorts, because _catch up?_ what is dongho, like forty years old? "that could be nice."

"sure," he replies, and jaewon's gaze flits between them, an awkward smile creeping on his lips.

"ah..."

dongho grabs his pastry and heads for the door, turning back at the last moment to give him a fleeting grin. "and for what it's worth, it'd be pretty hypocritical of me to shit on you for having a boyfriend."

he's not surprised.

he's seen his brother at gay clubs, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> ~~catch me sliding that juntae in there because i'm trash~~
> 
> also uhh not what i was supposed to be working on but i hope you enjoy anyways
> 
> [twit](https://twitter.com/i_was_human_) | [lit fic discord!](https://discord.gg/CNunB74)


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